Mac Donaldson walks by Cienegas Creek in Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. He led a tour of the area with media and government officials late last month. Donaldson leases federal land to herd about 1,500 head of cattle in Las Cienegas, which is part of the National Landscape Conservation System.

Related articles:

Our View Review

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator General
A1 Communications
Cable Techs

Legislation spearheaded by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, to preserve the rugged American West should become law.

The Committee on Natural Resources approved on March 12 the bill to make permanent the 26 million-acre National Landscape Conservation System. It would protect more than 3.3 million acres and 56 miles of trails in Arizona.

The conservation system, which has existed administratively since 2000, was put in place to protect remote and rugged lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The conservation system, about 10 percent of the land managed by the BLM, is a collection of 866 public land properties, or "units" in bureau- speak. It includes:

● 15 national monuments (five are in Arizona);

● 13 national conservation areas (three are in Arizona);

● 148 wilderness areas (Arizona, 47);

● 4,264 miles of national scenic and historic trails (one national historic trail is in Arizona);

● More than 600 wilderness study areas (Arizona has two).

Without this legislation, there is no guarantee that the conservation system will exist in the future, according to Grijalva's office.

Importantly, the measure would not change the management of existing conservation system units. Current agreements or uses, such as mining and grazing, would not be affected. Nor would there be an impact on how existing units are operated.

"These are incredible properties," said Ian Wilson of the Sonoran Institute. Passing this legislation would give them the stature of national parks and forests, which will be important for preservation and resource planning, he said.

These picturesque, remote lands won't be turned into national parks.

"You won't see a lot of infrastructure," Elena Daley, director of the National Landscape Conservation System, said during a tour late last month that was sponsored by the Sonoran Institute. Daley said the lands will honor traditional uses — there won't be hotels or developed campgrounds.

These public lands will maintain local character, Daley said after a hike in the Ironwood Forest National Monument, "This will be the next major conservation system for the United States."

Rancher Mac Donaldson of Empire Ranch LLC, who leases land in Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, said the collaborative process that formed the Las Cienegas management plan involved a large group, including envrionmentalists and day-users such as horseback and mountain-bike riders.

Grijalva's succinct legislation is straight-forward: It would establish the landscape conservation system under the secretary of the Interior to "conserve, protect and restore significant landscapes." There are no additional budget requests in the legislation. However, Donaldson said the high-standard goals for Las Cienegas require maintenance and that raising the stature of the system helps with funding resources in the future.

A designation in the conservation system may be an economic boon to local, rural economies.

According to a study by the Sonoran Institute, most counties with a unit in the system have prospered economically and found that protected public lands is a quality-of-life attribute that may help attract businesses and residents.

Congress should send legislation to the president's desk to make the National Landscape Conservation System permanent, and to retain the character and tradition of the rugged American West on these lands.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva D.C: 1-202-225-2435; Tucson: 622-6788 Web site: www.house.gov/grijalva/

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords D.C.: 1-202-225-2542; Tucson: 881-3588 Web site: http://giffords.house.gov/

Sen. John McCain D.C.: 1-202-224-2235; Tucson: 670-6334 Web site: http://mccain.senate.gov

Sen. Jon Kyl D.C.: 1-202-224-4521; Tucson: 575-8633 Web site: http://kyl.senate.gov